The intersection of Sports & Islam

Muslim athletes celebrate Eid al-Adha on social media

This year’s Hajj — the annual pilgrimage of millions of Muslims to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia — was bookended by a pair of heartbreaking, tragic events that made international headlines: the collapse of a construction crane at Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) that killed 118 people just days before the beginning of Hajj, and a human stampede during one of the final rituals of Hajj that cost more than 700 people their lives.

The end of Hajj is celebrated throughout the Muslim world as Eid al-Adha, one of two major Islamic holidays along with Eid al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan). In the wake of the stampede tragedy, Muslim athletes from a variety of sports and backgrounds were still sharing well-wishes to the ummah for Eid: